Page 174 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

So cater to your section of the country. In the Pacific Coast region, Atlantic
Coast, Gulf or Great Lakes sections, fish (fresh and smoked) are sold at
roadside stands. In the East, particularly in New York, you will find a number
of “milk stations.” The inhabitants of Texas are great consumers of ice cream
and any number of stands sell this hot weather confection. Mexican candy,
known as pralines, is in demand around New Orleans and certain parts of
Texas. In certain western and southwestern sections, unusual rocks and semi-
precious stones are sold. Indian handicrafts— bead work, silver and turquoise
jewelry, and leather goods—are sold from stands in and near the Indian
reservations. Throughout the Southwest, practically everything to wear, use,
or to eat, is sold at roadside stands. Hand-wrought jewelry, pottery, beads,
lace, carved ornaments, needlework, handmade baskets, handwoven blankets,
hot tamales, and chili are a few of the many items you can buy along the
roadside.

In addition to these sectional types of stands, roadside stands are successful
selling bird houses, garden ornaments, fishing bait, pets of all kinds, shells,
taffy candy, honey and honey candy, pies, pecans, taffy apples, antiques,
trellises and garden furniture of the rustic type, objects made of birch bark,
toys carved from wood, flowers, plants and shrubs, goldfish, dolls and
neckties.

Next to getting the right product for your locality, there is nothing so
important to the success of your enterprise as advertising. This may be in the
form of signs placed in advantageous places on the routes to your stand, signs
in tourists’ camps and railroad stations. Or, a novel type of display stand may
be sufficient to advertise your wares. One enterprising chap had a local
builder make a huge “hot dog” for a stand and thus advertised to all the world
his specialty. In Hollywood is a large iceberg which sells ice cream and cones
to the youngsters. Out west there are also a number of huge “lemons” and
“oranges,” which serve citrus fruit drinks and sandwiches. If you want
something different you might construct an ice cream freezer similar to one
built in Los Angeles. This enormous freezer, which can be seen for miles, has
a real handle on it that turns by means of a motor. In the East a successful
refreshment stand, selling buttermilk, butter, ice cream, malted milk,
sandwiches and similar products, is built in the form of a gigantic milk can.